The Red Badge Of Courage Research Paper

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Stephen Crane, born in November 1, 1871, was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer. Prolific throughout his short life, he wrote many notable works in the Realist tradition as well as early examples of American Nationalism and Impressionism. Crane is recognized by modern critics as one of the most innovative writers of his generation. Crane, being the ninth surviving child of the Protestant Methodist parents, began writing at the age of four and had published several articles by the age of 16. Crane's first novel was the 1893 Bowery tale Maggie: A Girl of the Streets, generally considered by critics to be the first work of American literary Naturalism. He won the international acclaim in 1895 for his Civil War novel, The Red Badge of Courage, which he wrote without having any battle experience. Crane was led to write stories based on his real life experiences. On the route to Cuba, Crane's vessel the SS Commodore, sank off the coast of Florida, leaving him and the others on board adrift for 30 hours. Because of this situation occurring, Crane was led to write The Open Boat, which described his ordeal. In the Red Badge of Courage, Stephen Crane uses …show more content…

Before his fear overtakes him and he flees from battle, his participation in the very first mistake leads to an understanding that he is not just one soldier, but part of a larger, amorphous whole; "he was welded into a common personality which was dominated by a single desire.” One soldier can rarely make a difference, but as a group, they can charge and repulse the enemy to emerge victorious or suffer defeat. Whether or not Henry's fellow troops are heroes or cowards, they are a powerful unit and they must rely upon each other. Each soldier has a duty to act according to the will of his or her regiment. To fully express this mutual dependency for the group, Henry compares being separated from his regiment to being

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